Minnesota

Minnesota law does not place any caps on charter school growth.

Minnesota law allows new start-ups and public school conversions.

Minnesota law allows the following types of entities to serve as authorizers: local school boards, intermediate school boards, cooperatives, charitable nonprofit organizations that meet certain criteria, private colleges, public postsecondary institutions, and single-purpose authorizers that are charitable, non-sectarian entities or limited liability corporations created just to authorize charter schools.

Minnesota law details a comprehensive authorizer approval and review process. It requires all potential authorizers to submit an application to the state commissioner of education, detailing the applicant’s ability to implement the procedures and satisfy the criteria for chartering a school and including information on the authorizer’s capacity and infrastructure, application criteria and process, contracting process, on-going oversight and evaluation processes, and renewal criteria and processes.
Minnesota law requires authorizers to annually submit a statement of income and expenditures related to authorizing activities to the state commissioner and its charter schools. It also requires the state commissioner to establish specifications for an authorizer’s annual public report that is part of the system to evaluate authorizer performance and requires the report to at least include key indicators of school academic, operational, and financial performance.
Following approval by the state commissioner to be an authorizer, Minnesota law requires each potential authorizer to submit an affidavit for approval by the commissioner for each individual school an authorizer seeks to charter. It requires each affidavit to contain details regarding the proposed school’s operations and student performance expectations, as well as the process the authorizer will use to provide ongoing oversight and to make decisions regarding the renewal or termination of the school’s charter.

Minnesota law requires the state commissioner to review each authorizer’s performance at least every five years and allows the state commissioner to subject the authorizer to corrective actions as needed, including the termination of contracts with schools it has authorized. As part of that review, the law requires the state department of education to comment on each authorizer’s evaluation process for providing formal written evaluation of their school’s performance before renewal of a charter contract.

Minnesota law allows authorizers to charge a fee. It provides that the fee that an authorizer may annually assess is the greater of: the basic formula allowance for that year; or the lesser of: the maximum fee factor times the basic formula allowance for that year; or the fee factor times the basic formula allowance for that year times the charter school's adjusted pupil units for that year. The fee factor equals .015. The maximum fee factor equals 4.0.For the preoperational planning period, after a school is chartered, the law allows an authorizer to assess a charter school a fee equal to the basic formula allowance.

Minnesota law requires authorizers to annually submit a statement of income and expenditures related to authorizing activities to the state commissioner and its charter schools.

Statute states that the granting or renewal of a charter by an authorizer cannot be contingent on the school being required to contract, lease, or purchase services from the authorizer. It also provides that any potential contract, lease, or purchase of service by a charter school from an authorizer must be disclosed to the state commissioner, accepted through an open bidding process, and be a separate contract from the charter contract. There are also further requirements in law if the contract is for management or financial services.

The law contains application elements for all schools and specific additional requirements for conversion schools.
The state’s authorizer approval process requires authorizers to demonstrate how they will evaluate any educational service provider arrangements proposed within a school’s application.

Within their affidavit sent to the state commissioner for each proposed charter school, Minnesota law requires authorizers to detail information related to the application and review process that the authorizer will use to make decisions regarding the granting of charters as well as their application requirements covering elements listed in statute and an evaluation plan for the proposed schools including criteria for evaluating educational, organization, and fiscal plans.

Following approval by the state commissioner to be an authorizer, Minnesota law requires each potential authorizer to submit an affidavit for approval by the commissioner for each individual school an authorizer seeks to charter. It requires each affidavit to contain details regarding the proposed school’s operations and student performance expectations, as well as the process the authorizer will use to provide ongoing oversight and to make decisions regarding the renewal or termination of the school’s charter.

Statute requires that traditional school district authorizers must act on chartering decisions at public meetings. It does not require other authorizers to do so. It does require all authorizers to state reasons for denials in writing.

Per statute, a written contract is required as signed by the authorizer and the charter school’s board of directors with details including a declaration that the charter school will carry out the primary purpose for charter schools in state law and how the school will report its implementation of the primary purpose, a declaration of the additional purpose or purposes for charter schools in state law that the school intends to carry out and how the school will report its implementation of those purposes, the operations of the school, specific outcomes students are to achieve, the criteria, processes, and procedures that the authorizer will use to monitor and evaluate the fiscal, operational, and academic performance consistent with state law, for contract renewal the formal written performance evaluation of the school that is a prerequisite for reviewing a charter contract under state law, the specific conditions for contract renewal that identify performance of all students under the primary purpose for charter schools in state law as the most important factor in determining contract renewal, the additional purposes for charter schools in state law related to performance obligations contained in the charter contract as additional factors in determining contract renewal, and the plan for the orderly closing of a school, if a charter is terminated.
Minnesota law provides that the initial contract may be for up to five years.

Statute requires charter schools to publish a fairly detailed annual report covering enrollment, student attrition, governance, staffing, finances, academic performance, innovative practices, and future plans. It requires this report to be distributed to its authorizer, school employees, and parents as well as posted on the schools’ websites.
Minnesota law also provides that charter schools are subject to the same financial audit procedures and requirements as all districts, with annual audit results submitted to the state commissioner and their authorizer.

Minnesota law requires authorizers to detail for state commissioner approval their process for ongoing oversight of the school consistent with the contract expectations, which must include the criteria, processes, and procedures that the authorizer will use for ongoing oversight of operational, financial, and academic performance.

Statute details causes and processes for nonrenewal or termination, but does not specifically require authorizers to notify their schools of concerns until renewal time nor does it give them the ability to impose corrective actions short of revocation. However, the law has been interpreted to allow authorizers to ask for corrective actions short of revocation. In addition, the law gives the state commissioner the authority to reduce state aid if a school fails to correct a violation of law.

Minnesota law requires authorizers to provide a formal written evaluation of each school’s performance before renewal of its contract.
Statute does not require a formal renewal application, but instead requires authorizers to detail for state commissioner approval their process for making decisions regarding the renewal or termination of a school’s charter based on evidence that demonstrate the academic, organizational, and financial competency of the school, including its success in increasing student achievement and meeting the goals of the charter school agreement. It also requires such items to be detailed in the actual charter school contract, including the performance evaluation that is a prerequisite for renewing a charter contract. The law does not require authorizers to provide an opportunity for schools to augment their performance record and discuss improvements and future plans.

Minnesota law provides that charter renewals may be made for up to five years.

Minnesota law requires the authorizer to provide timely notification of potential revocation to the school’s board of directors in writing, including the grounds for the proposed action. It allows the school to request an informal hearing.

Statute requires that traditional school district authorizers must act on chartering decisions at public meetings. It does not require other authorizers to do so.

Minnesota law requires each charter contract to have detailed provisions regarding what would happen if the school closed, including student notification and transfer and financial issues. There are also specific provisions in statute regarding the transfer of records and the disposition of property and assets.

According to the law, if an authorizer and a charter school board of directors mutually agree not to renew a contract, or if the governing board of an approved authorizer votes to withdraw as an approved authorizer, a change in authorizers is allowed. The state commissioner of education must approve such transfers.

Minnesota law specifies that charters may contract with outside entities to manage all or some aspects of the school.
The state department authorizer application and approval process requires all authorizers to have evaluation criteria for any educational service provider arrangements, but it does not specify the specific criteria.

The law requires the charter contract to include the terms of the school operations, including any educational service provider arrangements.

Minnesota law requires charter schools’ annual audits to include a copy of all charter school agreements for corporate management services and include detail the terms of the agreement, including the services provided and the annual costs for those services.

The law prohibits an individual from serving as a member of the charter school board of directors if the individual, an immediate family member, or the individual's partner is a full or part owner or a principal with a for-profit or nonprofit entity or independent contractor with whom the charter school contracts, directly or indirectly, for professional services, goods, or facilities. The law prohibits an individual from serving as a board member if an immediate family member is an employee of the school. The law provides that a violation of this prohibition renders a contract voidable at the option of the commissioner or the charter school board of directors and that a member of a charter school board of directors who violates this prohibition is individually liable to the charter school for any damage caused by the violation. The law prohibits authorizers from serving on the boards of their schools.

The law provides that contractors providing facilities, goods, or services to a charter school cannot serve on the board of directors of the charter school.

According to the law, all teachers employed or contracted to work within charter schools must be certified, with background checks being a required aspect of that.

Minnesota law provides that charter schools are fiscally and legally autonomous schools with independent school boards. Statute includes conflict of interest provisions regarding employees, agents, and board members of authorizers serving on any charter school’s board of directors.

Minnesota law requires charter schools to be open to all in the state.According to the law, a charter school may not limit admission to pupils on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or athletic ability and may not establish any criteria or requirements for admission that are inconsistent with state law.

Minnesota law provides that enrollment preferences must be given to siblings of enrolled pupils and any foster children of enrolled pupil’s parents. While the law does not explicitly provide enrollment preferences for previously enrolled students within conversions and prior year students within chartered schools, once a student is enrolled in a school in Minnesota, the law provides that they are enrolled as students until they are withdrawn.
Minnesota law allows charter schools to give preference for children of the school’s staff. The law allows a charter school to give an enrollment preference to children currently enrolled in the school’s free preschool or prekindergarten program who are eligible to enroll in kindergarten in the next school year. It also requires that a charter school located in Duluth Township of St. Louis County give an enrollment preference to students residing within a five-mile radius of the school and to the siblings of enrolled children.
Minnesota law requires a random selection lottery process to be used if interest exceeds capacity.

Minnesota law provides that charter schools are exempt from all statutes and rules applicable to traditional public schools or districts unless a statute or rule is made specifically applicable to a charter school or is included in the charter school law.
Minnesota law does not exempt charter schools from state teaching license requirements.

Minnesota state statute requires collective bargaining for non-charter public school teachers. There are seven topics that collective bargaining must address: wages, insurance or fringe benefits, hours, length of preparation periods, terms and conditions of employment, class load or size, and grievance procedures. Three items — pensions and retirement benefits, management rights, and evaluations — may be bargained. Just one topic, transfers and reassignments, is expressly prohibited. Minnesota law provides that a charter school’s teachers are at-will employees and may organize for collective bargaining similar to teachers in other districts. It also provides that a bargaining unit at a school authorized by a school district must negotiate as a separate unit with the charter school governing body or remain part of the school district unit if certain conditions and approvals are agreed upon.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, Minnesota allowed mandatory agency fees. The Supreme Court decision renders that state law unconstitutional. There has not been any reactive legislation enacted.
Minnesota statute does not permit an employer to directly certify an exclusive representative. Instead, either the employer or the labor organization may petition the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (MBMS) for certification for an election. To establish exclusive representation, the labor organization must certify that 30 percent of employees favor their representation. To challenge exclusive representation, employees must prove that 30 percent of employees wish to be unrepresented. The MBMS will investigate the petitions, hold a hearing, and run an election. The election must be held by secret ballot, and the ballot must include any organizations that have demonstrated 30 percent support as well as a choice for no representation. The election will be decided by majority vote, and if no organization receives a majority vote, a runoff election will be held. Another election may not be held for one year.

Minnesota law allows authorizers to permit a school that meets certain criteria to expand operation to additional school sites as approved by the state commissioner following the submission of a supplemental affidavit. These additional sites however, are considered additional campuses of a given school, not separate schools.
The state department of education allows each individual campus to receive separate federal charter start-up funds and requires that the contract between the authorizer and the charter school include specific fiscal and academic accountability measures for each campus. While under one charter, each campus that is self-identified as being distinct by the charter school receives its own site number from the state department of education and receives a separate rating under the state's accountability system.

The law provides that each charter school must have its own charter board, with such board only allowed to hold one charter contract.

Minnesota law provides that charter high schools are eligible to participate in Minnesota High School League Activities if the charter school joins the League.Minnesota law provides that charter schools and traditional school districts may enter into agreements for charter school students to participate in their resident district if the charter school does not provide an interscholastic activity. The decision on whether to enter into such an agreement is at the discretion of the resident district.

Minnesota law provides that charter schools are the LEAs for special education services and any such funds flow directly to them. In addition, it provides that charter schools may bill a student's resident school district for any additional funds needed to cover excess costs over and above the state and federal funds allocated for that student. Minnesota law provides that charter schools with at least 90% special education students are eligible for accelerated regular special education aid payments. The law also provides that schools have to pay 10% of the excess cost that’s billed back to districts.

Minnesota law provides that a charter school earns general education revenue on a per pupil unit basis just as though it were a school district. Charter schools in rural areas also qualify for transportation sparsity aid as if they were school districts. If a charter school chooses to have the district in which it is physically located provide transportation services, then 4.66% of the per pupil basic formula allowance plus the transportation sparsity aid for each charter school student is transferred to the providing district for transportation expenses.
The law provides that charter schools as LEAs have equal access to all applicable categorical funding.

Minnesota law's funding formula provides dollars for transportation to charter schools and gives charter schools the option of providing transportation and keeping the transportation funds or requesting the traditional district to provide transportation and then paying those funds to that district in which the school is physically located.

In a national study of charter school funding (University of Arkansas, Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands, 2014), Minnesota charter schools were receiving on average $10,937 per pupil in public funds, while traditional public schools would have received $13,918 for those students. As a result, the state's charter schools were receiving $2,981 per pupil - or 21.4% - less than what the traditional public schools would have received for those students. This figure includes all sources of funding, and the analysis reveals some continued inequities for both operational and capital funding (see component #19 for information on capital issues).

For FY 2019, charter schools received $226.59 per-pupil in an operating capital revenue allowance. If these revenue funds are insufficient to cover a building lease, a charter school may apply to the commissioner for building lease aid. Building lease aid cannot be used for custodial, maintenance service, utility, or other operating costs. Minnesota law provides lease aid to charter schools in the amount of 90% of lease costs, up to $1,314 per-pupil for FY 2020. Minnesota law specifies that charter schools that own their own facilities may not receive lease aid, but they can apply lease aid to a facility lease from an affiliated nonprofit building corporation.Minnesota law provides public charter schools receive long-term facilities maintenance revenue like all school districts, except that charter schools have the freedom to use the revenue for any purpose of the school. For fiscal year 2019, this was $132 per adjusted pupil unit. In comparison, this is significantly lower than what school districts receive, which is $380 times a rate that is based on the district's average facility age, plus additional funding for large indoor air quality, asbestos abatement, and fire alarm and suppression projects.
Minnesota law specifies that charter schools that own their own facilities may not receive lease aid. However, it allows charter schools that meet certain requirements (e.g., have net unreserved general fund balances) to, with state commissioner approval, create an affiliated nonprofit building corporation, which may renovate or purchase an existing facility or expand an existing building or construct a new school facility. The law allows such nonprofit building corporations to secure financing through various sources available to other nonprofits (e.g., municipal bonds, mortgages), and allows charter schools to use their lease aid for facilities owned by nonprofit building corporations.

Minnesota law provides that the employees of charter schools are considered public employees for retirement purposes and the schools and employees must contribute to the appropriate retirement system.

Minnesota law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
For a student enrolled in an online learning course, the law provides that the state department of education must calculate average daily membership and that no online learning average daily membership shall be generated if the student does not complete the online learning course.

Minnesota law also requires that a charter school offering online courses or programs must comply with some additional statuary requirements including approval of their on-line learning programs by the state department of education initially and then every three years. The online learning provider must give the commissioner written assurance that: (1) all courses meet state academic standards; and (2) the online learning curriculum, instruction, and assessment, expectations for actual teacher-contact time or other student-to-teacher communication, and academic support meet nationally recognized professional standards and are described as such in an online learning course syllabus that meets the commissioner's requirements.